ACRULITE FF what is this stuff?

[Bert Kemp]

Any searches brings up Acrylite FF ok maybe its acrylite and no u as the Y may have been cut off
My sheets are marked Cyro Acrulite FF I was told from the guy I got them from they were cast acrylic SZo this morning I tried to engrave and Cut this stuff. The engraving looked funny from the start but I let it go Then it went to cut and it had a really bright flame as it cut and produced a lot of carbon 4 passes would not cut thru it and it didn't smell like any acrylic I cut before IMG_20180311_095627401(1) (Copy).jpgIMG_20180311_095734568 (Copy).jpgSo I ask what have I got here

[Matt McCoy]

I believe it's Acrylite, which is an acrylic product and the FF is extruded. Their website lists laser cutting as a fabrication method.

[Bert Kemp]

so being extruded is why all the carbon and won't cut? if so the guy lied to me and I'm stuck with a bunch of this stuff

[Glen Monaghan]

You can see from your picture that it is Acrylite, not Acrulite; the y's descender is cut off but clearly too long for a u. And, as Matt said, it's extruded acrylic. That means it won't engrave to a frosty white, and it will tend to melt and reflow when cutting. I'm guessing the "carbon" was from the paper? Hmm, actually, it looks like you were cutting without the paper... How thick is the sheet and what sort of speed/power mix were you using?

[Joe Pelonio]

Though a different brand I have a regular job that I do with extruded regularly, about ten 12x24”sheets each time. It cuts beautifully, in 1/8” thickness.” The engraving on it works well for paint fill, bu not for that frosted glass look. The stuff I use has a blue plastic film on it , rather than paper. Extruded is cheaper so if it works for thejob, your profit goes up. I pay about $70 for a full 4’x8’ sheet cut to 12x24s.

[Joseph Shawa]

Try HIGH pressure air and short focal length lens if you want to cut. That is what I use to cut polyester which tends to make the same smoke show. Not sure if that will help with engraving.

[Bert Kemp]

I was cutting with out paper, its a little less the 1/4 and I was using same settings I use for cast. 70% pwr 10mmps spd.full air Never had any problems like this with cast 1/4. I don't know why all this carbon and not cutting weird.

You can see from your picture that it is Acrylite, not Acrulite; the y's descender is cut off but clearly too long for a u. And, as Matt said, it's extruded acrylic. That means it won't engrave to a frosty white, and it will tend to melt and reflow when cutting. I'm guessing the "carbon" was from the paper? Hmm, actually, it looks like you were cutting without the paper... How thick is the sheet and what sort of speed/power mix were you using?

[Joseph Shawa]

Bert, Could it be that by chance, your lens failed? I had this happen once after a long engraving session on high power.

[Kev Williams]

FWIW the rest of the "y" tail is right under the "r"

I've cut lots of extruded with no problem, other than the gooey edges. I've never cut it paper-off however. I too am wondering Bert, if your lens or a mirror has 'an issue'...

That said, here's a piece of the same stuff I cut not long ago.
It's a different brand and it's "SG" (sign grade) rather than "FF", but they're essentially the same...
DSC07421.jpg

All extruded I've ever cut comes out good like this one...
DSC07420.jpg

However, this crap doesn't laser engrave good at all.
--and I engraved this at 15% power 500mm/s at .07 gap,
that much power barely engraves black Romark...

here I have my shop light blazing across the surface,
the engraving is 'ok' but there is no 'frosty' look to it, the stuff just melts,
and there's very little contrast...
DSC07424.jpg

And here I put the edge right into the light,
cast acrylic engraving would light up like gangbusters,
but this stuff doesn't edge-light whatsover...
DSC07425.jpg

For your purposes Bert, you need cast acrylic, period. With any luck whoever sold you this stuff will trade it back in...

[Bert Kemp]

OK so to basically check out the laser I threw in a piece of 1/8 cast and cut it the threw in a piece of 1/4 and cut it. Same setting as I tried with the extruded. So I guess my lens and mirrors or ok as you can see its fairly fine cutting. I also engraved a bunch of cast yesterday came out fine.
So will I get better cut results on the extruded if I leave paper on?Amazing Grace (Copy).jpggreen is 1/8 clear 1/4

[Clark Pace]

I used to work at a Plastics Company this is a very common brand it's just extruded acrylic. It cuts just fine I have used the stuff for over 15 years. Does not extrude because it's extruded. Use cast instead

[Bert Kemp]

why am I not able to cut it then

[Bert Kemp]

So any ideas why I can't cut this stuff?

I used to work at a Plastics Company this is a very common brand it's just extruded acrylic. It cuts just fine I have used the stuff for over 15 years. Does not extrude because it's extruded. Use cast instead

[Joe Pelonio]

When you said “full air”how many psi? I had a severe charring issue with 1/16” ABS suddenly, and tried a lot of things like cleaning and focus checking. Finally after some wasted time it turned out to be the air pump worn to the point where the usual 25 lbs was only 16. Changing to a compressor did the trick, but then I found by experimenting that 35 lbs. was even cleaner. If you can, try more air and see if it helps.

[Bert Kemp]

No I have one of those cheap ones that came with it, seems to put out a good flow tho. I have no problem with any other material, cast, wood, leather , what ever just this stuff.